1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a messaging system, and particularly to a system for providing transparent participation of third parties in instant messaging communication.
2. Description of Background
Today, instant messaging (IM) has many applications beyond internal employee conversations. Uses include customer support and other interactions with individuals outside the company. In current implementations, communication is direct and cannot be retracted. Instant messaging across the Internet is a common chat application that allows instantaneous communication between one or more individuals simultaneously by transmitting information quickly and efficiently through one or more networks. Such instantaneous communication is accomplished through the use of a computer, wireless device, or any text-based communication device having a standard chat application provided by an IM provider.
Instant messaging also facilitates quick exchange of information such as Uniform Resource Locations (URLs) or document snippets, which often times can be difficult to communicate via a telephone. Currently, IM communications have been particularly useful in customer support environments. Many companies have enabled their customers to receive live customer support from a support technician using instant messaging. In some instances, support technicians that are providing live support may be in a training phase, which may require a trainer to monitor the communications between the support technician and the customer. However, such monitoring can be difficult when the training actions are for distributed work environments. Another problem that arises is that a distributed workforce “over the shoulder” or “in the same room” education is not possible due to the geographic separation between the trainer and the trainee.
Existing solutions require that a secondary communication network be utilized which increases expenses and may not always be available. Even so, these secondary communication paths do not show the real time aspect of the original communication and they add human delay to the equation.
Existing solutions further require integration with a secondary communication media, which introduces delays into the communication flow. Other solutions have presented themselves where a delay is introduced by having the second chat party approve or monitor the communication. However, this solution is not sufficient when transparent participation is desired, but both the approval step and human delays are not desired.